Cut The Red Tape In Disaster Aid

October 22, 1989

For awhile there, it looked as if the devastating California earthquake would turn into a political football. The Democratic mayor of San Francisco, Art Agnos, referred to the visit of Vice President Dan Quayle, a Republican, as a ``publicity stunt.`` Quayle, in turn, called Agnos` remarks

``unfortunate.`` And there were questions about why Quayle was there instead of President Bush in the first place.

But Bush, who was criticized for waiting too long to go to South Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, went to California Friday to express his concern and promise whatever help it takes for the area to recover. During his trip, he touched on the dilemma of whether to visit or not visit the scene a disaster. ``If you go, they say you`re getting in the way,`` he said. ``If you don`t, why, it`s neglect.``

Showing the flag of his office and lending support to recovery efforts are important, but perhaps even more crucial is a presidential commitment to cutting the paperwork and bureaucratic red tape that infuriated victims of Hugo and complicated relief work.

Bush told California officials that this time there will be ``no red tape.`` ``You can`t have every `t` crossed and `i` dotted,`` he said. Now the President and Transportation Secretary Sam Skinner, the administration`s point man for the recovery effort, need to be sure the federal agencies involved will follow through.

One very big problem is going to be money. At the moment, no one knows how much it`s going to take to rebuild the damaged structures and roads. One day the estimate was $2.5 billion. The next day it was up to $5 billion. By Friday, figures of $8 billion to $10 billion were being tossed around.

``I`m willing to do what needs to be done,`` Bush said. ``We need checks written on the spot,`` said Agnos, who apparently is not awed by presidents any more than he is by vice presidents.

The federal government came up with more than $1 billion after Hurricane Hugo, but it finagled its books to keep the money from being added to this year`s budget deficit. Even the most creative bookkeeping should not be able to tuck away $10 billion, especially when everyone in Washington and California will be trying to take credit for the aid.